What's Hot: Two layers of protection yet slim and light, many color options, comes with film protector.

What's Not: None.

Reviewed by Tong Zhang

OtterBox has announced all four of their case series for the new iPhone 5, the Commuter Series and the Defender Series are now available for purchase while the Reflex Series and the Prefix Series are coming soon. The Commuter Series case is less bulky than the Defender Series but still comes with two layers of protection. The case offers excellent protection from bumps, scratches and some shock damage, and it comes in 8 color options in two-tone combo: Black, Glow Green shell with Admiral Blue rubber cover, Lava Orange exterior with Slate Grey interior, White/Gunmetal Grey, Ocean Blue/Night Blue Sky, Pop Purple/Violet Purple, Aqua Blue/Mineral Blue and Avon Pink/Grey.

Design

The OtterBox Commuter Series case combines the best of two worlds: rugged protection and slim and light enough to be pocketable. The case comes with a rubber interior layer that fits the phone like a glove and keeps the shape. The soft interior layer is reasonably thick for shock protection and provides a better grip for the iPhone 5. The interior rubber doubles in thickness where the hard shell doesn't cover. The hard plastic shell is durable and provides strong structural protection for the phone as well as protection against hard bumps and sharp objects. The two layers compliment each other, and make it easier to put the case on and take it off.

The Commuter Series case wraps around the front of the iPhone 5 with its rubber layer and creates a barrier for the display when you put the phone face down. While the case doesn't cover the front glass, the Commuter Series case comes with a nice, self adhesive film protector that covers most of the front glass. The Commuter Series case is well made and it doesn't add a lot bulk to the slim phone. The case weighs only 1.2 ounces.

Features

OtterBox is known for its rugged cases that can survive harsh environment. The Commuter Series cases are more for the office professionals as opposed to the field professionals. But the Commuter Series case for the iPhone 5 enjoys a few perks that the rugged OtterBox cases have. One of them is port and button protection. All of iPhone 5's buttons including the power button and the volume buttons are protected under the interior layer. The case offers raised buttons over the device buttons to make it easier for you to use them. Both the audio jack and the Lightning port have built-in port covers. You can peel the covers open when you need to use the ports and cover them to prevent lint or dust from intruding.

There are several openings on the Commuter Series case for the iPhone 5, including the cutout for the silence slider, the rear camera/flash, the bottom speaker and mic as well as a round cutout for the Apple logo on the back. The silence slider cutout is big enough to use the slider comfortably, and the rear camera cutout gives the camera full view and enough space for the flash to fully illuminate.

Conclusion

If you're looking for some extra protection on your daily commute for your iPhone 5, the OtterBox Commuter Series case is a great choice. It offers strong protection of two layers of material, covered ports and front film protector, yet the case is reasonably slim and light. The case is well made and we really like the color combos in the selection.